More than 500 families at Waaki landing site in Kibiro Parish in Kigorobya Sub County in Hoima district are at the verge of being evicted from their ancestral land. The residents have been feuding with Franco Kaahwa, a prominent businessman since 2010 over 2000 hectares of land.
The residents told a Select Committee of parliament, which is investigating forceful land evictions in Hoima district that several of them have been brutally arrested, tortured, harassed and detained by security operatives hired by Kaahwa to chase them from their land. Led by Gilbert Owonda, the area LC1 Chairperson, the residents, say Kaahwa has a title covering 806 hectares in the neighboring Kakoma Burwe village but he wants to use it to forcefully grab their land in the neighboring area. They accused Police and Uganda Peoples Defense Forces officers of allegedly conniving with Kaahwa to scare them off their land. URN reported that according to the residents, the latest attack occurred on Thursday last week when police officers raided the area and arrested ten people cultivating their land. The suspects were reportedly brutally assaulted before they were whisked off to
Hoima Central police station where they are locked up to date. Gaster Mugoya Kyawa, the Select Committee Chairperson, called for calm and assured the affected residents that his committee will take up the matter. He warned security personnel in the district against conniving with land grabbers to illegally evict people from their ancestral land. Kaahwa hasn’t yet commented on the accusations by the residents as he couldn’t be reached by the time of filing this story. The Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga constituted the Select Committee on March 6th, 2019 after the Ora County Member of parliament, Lawrence Biyika Songa complained about the brutal and forceful eviction of residents by security operatives in Hoima district on February 21, 2019. The committee is operating under six terms of reference including studying all claims of ownership on the disputed land, investigating allegations relating to identity and status of persons evicted, examining the involvement and conduct of security officers in the eviction of families. The committee is expected to complete work in 45 days and report back to Parliament. The other committee members are Budaka Woman MP, Pamela Kamoga Naiso, Makindye East MP, Ibrahim Kasozi Biribawa, Bududa Woman MP, Justine Khainza, UPDF Representative, Brig. Flavia Byekwaso, Oyam Woman MP, Santa Alum, and Busiki County MP, Paul Akamba. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225.
